Bury St Edmunds charity Gatehouse has big plans to combat increasing demand amid cost-of-living crisis

It is all hands on deck at Bury St Edmunds-based charity Gatehouse as staff work to broaden their services in a bid to help more in the community.

Charity CEO Amanda Bloomfield said there were a number of plans in the works to increase the offering at the Dettingen Way site, including the introduction of more health screenings and education in the community.

The charity currently supports those in need with food parcels and other essentials, but in order to access many of their services a family has to be referred by another organisation.

“Going forward, we are looking at having more available to people without them having to go through loads of in-depth questioning and without them having to be on specific benefits,” said Amanda.

Gatehouse currently runs a secondhand store, which sells donated items from white goods to clothing and homewares and is open to the public.

Amanda explained this could change in the future to allow the people who need to wares the most to access them.

“We do have the home store under review at the moment, we are just looking at what we can do staff wise to meet the needs,” she said.

Amanda said that demand had risen hugely in the last few months, with more than 600 Christmas hampers expected to be needed this Christmas.

“Now that more people are being affected by the cost of living it’s about breaking down those barriers of pride issues and shame of having to use a charity,” she said.

“We’re now looking at how we access those people that wouldn’t typically put themselves forward.”

The charity is also planning to get out into the local community and provide sessions on budgeting and managing finances, in hopes of making contact with new families in need.

And currently, in collaboration with One Life Suffolk, Gatehouse is offering health checks from their store which check for issues with blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes among other things.

Amanda said they also hoped to bring in accessible smear testing and also a Covid-19 vaccination centre in the near future.

While new projects and improvements were coming, there were some key elements to the charity that Amanda said would always remain.

“We provide a safe place where people can come to us without judgement placed on them,” she said.

“They can ask for advice and are treated confidentially.

“They build a trust with us which enables us to break down some of these barriers to using our services and statutory services.

“That is something we don’t want to change. We want to remain a safe place for people to come to,” she added.

For Amanda and her team, the stories from residents in need are not always easy to hear but volunteers are inspired to keep working for the community by the success stories.

Amanda said: “It is really nice when you see that you have been able to help people, and those good stories really keep you going.”

She said the charity had seen ‘exponential’ demand in the last few months, largely driven by rising energy costs and everyday price rises.

She said that when she joined 13 years ago, the charity produced around 100 hampers per year, over six times less than what is currently needed.

“If you are able to help make a difference this year it really will be appreciated by families,” she said.

“The words of thanks and the looks on faces when they receive help makes it worth it.

“That look of relief, it really is unexplainable.”

This year, Gatehouse has teamed up with the Bury Free Press to collect the goods needed for its Christmas foodbank appeal.

As the appeal comes to a close, we are still looking for gifts and canned food to brighten a family’s festive period this year.

If you can spare a can or two you can bring your donations to the Bury Free Press office in Kings Road.

Alternatively, those who wish to donate money can do so at www.localgiving.com/charity/gatehouse.

All goods must be donated by 4pm on Monday, November 28.